Embarrassing Losses

Redskins shutout 36-0

The first place New York Giants(5-2) embarrased the Washington Redskins with a 36-0 win on Sunday, playing an emotional game after the death of their owner Wellington Mara. Washington (4-3), a 52-17 winner over San Francisco a week earlier, managed just 34 yards in the first half and finished with 125. The Redskins didn't cross midfield until the last minute of the third quarter. It was the first time a Joe Gibbs coached team had been shut-out.

``I think we all realized what was at stake,'' said head coach Joe Gibbs. ``We had talked about it all week, the big ballgame for us and for them there was a lot at stake. There was a lot riding on it and we didn't play well. I think we take a long hard look at ourselves, and it certainly starts with me.''

Redskin quarterback Mark Brunell entered the game with the fourth-highest quarterback rating in the NFL, but finished 11-for-28 for 65 yards and could not solve a secondary that entered the game having given up the second-most yards in the NFL. Running back Clinton Portis had a career low of only 6 yards rushing.

D.C. United shutout 4-0

By the time Freddy Adu got in the game, D. C. United was already well on their way to the most embarrassing playoff loss in the franchise's 10-year history.

The defending MLS champions were eliminated 4-0 Sunday by the Chicago Fire, a game in which United's best player was ejected for spitting at someone's face and the post-game talk centered as much on 16-year-old Adu's future as the poor effort shown by the team that has won four league titles.

Adu has been openly critical of his limited playing time this season and may have played his last game with Washington. D.C. United was the defending MLS champions and the timing of Adu's comments during the playoffs the past two weeks certainly created problems for the team.

Maryland Loses to FSU, 35-27

The Maryland Terapins lost to the 10th-ranked Florida as the Seminoles came away with a 35-27 come-from-behind win over Maryland on Saturday. Maryland's final bid for a tie ended with 52 seconds left when Joel Statham was sacked by A.J. Nicholson at the Florida State 40. The Seminoles lost 20-17 in College Park, Md., last season. ``We were a couple of plays from winning,'' Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. ``I'm not into playing close. Either you win or you don't. We didn't and we could have.''
Maryland (4-4, 2-3) scored 24 straight points midway through the game, building a 24-14 lead on Dan Ennis' 40-yard field goal three minutes into the second half. After Ennis kicked a 35-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter and give the Terrapins a 27-21 lead, the Seminoles took over and wore the young Terps down with their depth. A pair of pass interference calls against Maryland's best cornerback, Gerrick McPhearson, who was trying to defend receiver Carr one-on-one, set up Florida quarterback Weatherford's go-head score.
Maryland scored three touchdowns in a span of nine minutes to take a 21-14 halftime lead. Quarterback Joel Statham, playing for the injured starter Sam Hollenbach, ran for a score and added touchdown passes covering 29 yards to Derrick Fenner and 20 yards to Jo Jo Walker. ``It's frustrating,'' Fenner said afterward. ``We've just got to put these games away.''
With road games at North Carolina and North Carolina State sandwiched around a Nov. 19 home date against Boston College, the Terps are scrambling to qualify for bowl eligibility. ``We have our work cut out for us,'' Friedgen said. Statham, who sparked Maryland's victory over Florida State a year ago, completed 15 of 29 passes for 177 yards while sophomore tailback Lance Ball ran for 120 yards on 21 carries.

Brain Food

1. Blueberries
Sweet wild blueberries are bursting with antioxidants, which mop up nasty free radicals. Studies of rats show that a blueberry-rich diet improves memory and motor skills and reverses age-related declines in balance and coordination. Chemicals in blueberries affect the contractile machinery of arteries, and therefore have a good affect on blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure can damage delicate blood vessels in the brain and can lead to strokes.
2. Dark Leafy Greens 3. Salmon, Sardines, and Herring 4. Spinach 5. Red Wine, or, better yet, Grape Juice 6. Whole Grains and Brown Rice 7. Hot Cocoa 8. Nuts, Notably Almonds and Walnuts 9. Olive Oil 10. Garlic

...Read more here

Redskins 52 - San Francisco 17

Running back Clinton Portis did cartwheels and linebacker LaVar Arrington finally got to play as the Washington Redskins beat the San Francisco 49ers, 52-17 on Sunday. After five nail-biting games to start the season, the Redskins unloaded on the 49ers, scoring the most points in a game since their Super Bowl season in '91.
The Redskins (4-2) led 35-7 at halftime, piled up 448 yards and scored on seven of their first nine possessions to snap a two-game losing streak. Mark Brunell completed 13 of 20 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Sellers caught scoring passes of 2 and 19 yards. Santana Moss had a 32-yard TD reception and maintained his torrid start with five passes for 112 yards, his fourth 100-yard game in five weeks.
Portis ran 19 times for 101 yards and scored his first three touchdowns of the season, a huge relief to a player who put some self-effacing humor into a scoreless season at practice last week by donning a wig and glasses that made him resemble Doc Brown from ``Back to the Future.'' Portis did little jigs after his first and third TDs and performed two cartwheels after his 1-yard score that made it 21-7 late in the second quarter. Arrington playing most of the game lead the team in tackles with 9(with 7 solo tackles) and got huge cheers from the crowd every time he made a play.

Virginia Tech Beats Maryland, 28-9

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - They raced to the locker room at halftime, their helmets held high and spirits soaring after a solid performance against No. 3 Virginia Tech. Despite trailing 7-3, the Maryland Terrapins sensed an upset was in the making. Marcus Vick wouldn't let it happen. The redshirt junior quarterback accounted for 344 yards of offense, including a career-high 133 rushing, and the unbeaten Hokies pulled away in the second half to a 28-9 victory Thursday night.
The Terrapins (4-3, 2-2) came in with a three-game winning streak and designs of avenging a 55-6 defeat to the Hokies last November. It seemed possible until Maryland finally got tired of chasing the elusive Vick. ``Our defense was on the field too long, and they began to wear down as the game went on,'' Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen said.
Terp quarterback Sam Hollenbach was 14-of-30 for 158 yards and two interceptions, and Lance Ball had 75 yards rushing on 15 attempts. The Terrapins wore their alternate black jerseys for the second time this season, hoping for the same result as the last time: a 45-33 victory over Virginia on Oct. 1. The ploy didn't work, yet Maryland could take solace in putting forth a decent performance in front of a national television audience and a crowd of 54,838, the second-largest in school history ``I think we played hard and had the opportunities, but we didn't take advantage of them,'' Friedgen said.

Watching What You Print

The Electronic Frontier Foundation(EEF) said that currently only the U.S. Secret Service and now itself had the ability to decrypt the imprint. It said that although the Secret Service claims to use this information only for cornering counterfeit crimes, there is no legal framework to prevent the information from being put to other uses. A secret code embedded in many color laser jet printers allows the U.S. government and any other organization capable of reading the cipher to identify when the copies were made and on which particular machine, according to research conducted by the EFF.
The San Francisco-based privacy organization said Tuesday it had detected almost invisible patterns of yellow dots on every document printed on the affected machines. The dots could indicate when and where the print was made. Among the copiers found to include the secret yellow dots are ones made by Brother, Canon , Dell, Epson, HP, Konica/Minolta, Kyocera , Lexmark, Ricoh, Tektronix/Toshiba and Xerox.
The foundation cautioned that although it had deciphered the code on Xerox machines, it had not done the same for the yellow dots found on other copiers, but that it was likely that they too represented a sophisticated document tracking system. "So far, we've only broken the code for Xerox DocuColor printers, but we believe that other models from other manufacturers include the same personally identifiable information in their tracking dots," said EFF Staff Technologist Seth David Schoen.
The dots are yellow, less than one millimeter in diameter, and are typically repeated over each page of a document. The pattern can be seen using a blue light, a magnifying glass, or a microscope. The group said that currently only the U.S. Secret Service and now itself had the ability to decrypt the imprint. It said that although the Secret Service claims to use this information only for cornering counterfeit crimes, there is no legal framework to prevent the information from being put to other uses.

Redskins Lose to Chiefs, 28-21

The Washington Redskins defense gave-up a Priest Holmes' 60-yard short pass and run touchdown early in the fourth quarter that ended up being the difference in a 28-21 Kansas City victory.
The Redskins had a chance to force overtime, but after driving to the Chiefs' 33 in the final minute, four straight incompletions ended their chances and dropped them to 3-2, a half-game behind 4-2 Dallas in the NFC East and tied with the Giants and Philadelphia. The good news for the Redskins is they next play host to 1-4 San Francisco.
On a day that saw receiver Santana Moss continue to build his No. 1 receiver portfolio (a career-high 173 yards and a 78-yard touchdown), Mark Brunell throw for 331 yards and three scores, the defense holding Holmes to18 rushing yards and the special teams keeping Dante Hall in check, the turnovers were the story. Brunell fumbled at the 7-yard line on the Redskins opening drive, which Kansas City turned into a field goal. A second-quarter Brunell fumble happened at the Redskins 40. And running back Rock Cartwright's third-quarter fumble was returned by Sammy Knight for an 80-yard touchdown
Through five games, the Redskins are a combined minus-8 in turnover ratio. They haven't forced a turnover since a pair of takeaways against Chicago in Week 1. "On the road against really good teams, you can't afford mistakes," coach Joe Gibbs said. "We made a bunch of good plays, but it wasn't enough." "We've dug ourselves into a little bit of a hole, but we'll fight back," quarterback Mark Brunell said. "We'll find out what kind of character we have, but I'm confident this team will clean up the mistakes."
The Redskins took possession with no timeouts and 1:46 left at their own 22 and used Brunell completions of 11, 19 and 15 yards to get to the Chiefs 33 with 39 seconds left. Brunell overshot Cooley on first down, missed an open James Thrash over the middle on second down, threw it away under pressure on third down and, on fourth down, had Moss momentarily open down the left sideline, but the pass was deflected by Knight.

Quill Book Awards

Book of the Year - presented by Brian Williams Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator) Arthur Levine/Scholastic Debut Author of the Year - presented by Kim Cattrall The Historian Elizabeth Kostova Little Brown & Company General Fiction - presented by Erica Jong The Mermaid Chair Sue Monk Kidd Viking Press Mystery/Suspense/Thriller - presented by Stephen J. Cannell and Annie Parisse Eleven on Top Janet Evanovich St. Martin's Press Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror - presented by Tamara Tunie The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror Christopher Moore William Morrow & Company Biography/Memoir - presented by Nick Hornby Chronicles: Volume One Bob Dylan Simon & Schuster History/Current Events/Politics - presented by Tony LoBianco 1776 David McCullough Simon & Schuster Humor - presented by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction Jon Stewart and the Writers of the Daily Show Warner Books Sports - presented by Len Berman Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King Scribner

Washington Nationals - Recap

In their first season in Washington, the Nationals were the feel-good story of the first half of 2005. They were 52-36 and in first place in the National League East. They were getting solid pitching and timely hitting on a regular basis.

A couple of days before the All-Star break, manager Frank Robinson warned his team not to relax because teams in the East would be gunning for them.

Robinson was proven right. Not only did they lose their division and Wild Card leads, the Nationals went 28-45 after the break and were eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 26. Still, Washington finished with a .500 record.

Record: 81-81, fifth in NL East.

Defining moment: The Nationals can look at their game against the Padres on Sept.17 as the turning point of the season. Washington blew a 5-0 lead in the ninth before losing, 8-5, in 12 innings.

It was a game that left people second-guessing Robinson for a while. He made too many pitching changes in the ninth inning, and the Padres took advantage of the situation to put five runs on the board.

Robinson would later apologize to the team and admit that he should have started the inning by using closer Chad Cordero. The Nationals would lose seven of their next eight games before being eliminated from the Wild Card race.

What went right: The Nationals' pitching staff was consistent all season, even though Robinson was forced to use a four-man rotation because of injuries by September. Washington ended up fourth in the National League in ERA.

What went wrong: The poor offense was overlooked in the first half of the season because the Nationals had one of the best records in baseball. But the bats were the main reason they fell out of the race after the All-Star break. The Nats finished last in the Major Leagues in almost every offensive category.

Biggest surprise: At the All-Star break, right-hander Hector Carrasco was 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA, and he said he was going to be even better. In September, Robinson put Carrasco in the rotation, where he gave up six runs in 26 2/3 innings and posted a 2-1 record. Carrasco credited his success to pitching coach Randy St. Claire, who taught him how to command a deadly changeup.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Batting
Average: Nick Johnson, .289
Doubles: Brad Wilkerson, 42
Triples: Brad Wilkerson, 7
Home runs: Preston Wilson, 25
Runs: Jose Guillen, 81
RBIs: Preston Wilson, 90
Stolen bases: Junior Spivey, 9

Pitching
Wins: Livan Hernandez, 15
Losses: Esteban Loaiza, Livan Hernandez, 10
ERA (starter): John Patterson, 3.13
ERA (reliever): Hector Carrasco, 2.04
Saves: Chad Cordero, 47

FORECAST FOR 2006
Lineup: The Nationals need to make a lot of improvements, and the starting eight is expected to be overhauled. Third baseman Vinny Castilla and Preston Wilson likely won't be back and the club has to determine if players such as Brad Wilkerson, Cristian Guzman, Marlon Byrd and Ryan Church will ever reach their potential.

Rotation: As good as the rotation was, they need two more starters because Tony Armas Jr. isn't likely to return, and Ryan Drese and Jon Rauch will be coming off shoulder problems. When September began, the Nationals had only three starters in the rotation because of injuries. Washington was then forced to put Carrasco in the rotation.

Bullpen: The bright spot of the team, led by closer Cordero and setup men Gary Majewski and Luis Ayala. The big question is, can they afford to keep Carrasco and Joey Eischen, who are free agents? Robinson said he would love to see the Nationals get a powerful left-handed reliever. If they can't get one in the free agent market, Washington might have to promote Bill Bray, the franchise's No 1 pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.

Biggest need: The Nationals need a leadoff hitter with speed and at least two impact sluggers. They thought they had at least one slugger in Wilson, but he was too inconsistent. Whether they acquire those players will depend on new ownership, which was not determined at the end of the season.

Prospect to watch: If the month of September was any indication, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is going to be a star in the years to come. He hit over .400 with six RBIs. On defense, Zimmerman has shown why interim general manager Jim Bowden has compared him to Scott Rolen, Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt at third base. Zimmerman was flawless at the position.

Bye Bye Yankees!!!

Monday Morning Quarterback

Linebacker Jan Gold knocked away Mark Brunells's 2-point conversion pass with 1:09 left Sunday to help Denver hang onto a 21-19 victory and keep the Washington Redskins from adding yet another fantastic finish to their charmed season. Mark Brunell went 30-for-53 for 322 yards and drove the Redskins 94 yards for the touchdown on an 11-yard pass to Chris Cooley that pulled Washington (3-1) within two. But on the conversion try, Brunell spotted David Patten open in the back of the end zone for a moment, but Gold came over and batted down the pass to prevent a possible overtime. The Redskins won their first three games by a total of six points, including a grinding 20-17 overtime win last week that came only after Seattle kicker hit the upright on the last play of regulation. This time, though there was no great finish. ``This one is going to hurt, it's supposed to hurt,'' Brunell said. Washington also had a safety taken away courtesy of the famous ``tuck rule.'' Plummer lost the ball near his goal line and recovered in the end zone where he was tackled, but officials overruled the play, saying Plummer's arm had been moving forward when the ball slipped from his grasp, making it an incomplete pass. Clinton Portis, a flamboyant and temperamental playmaker in Denver before being traded to the Redskins two years ago, ran for 103 yards on 20 carries for the Redskins and was booed pretty much every time he touched the ball. ``We had enough mistakes to actually go out and lose this game,'' Portis said. ``We hurt ourselves.'' ...For more on the Redskins Mario Merrills ran for three touchdowns, leading Maryland to a 38-7 victory over winless Temple on Saturday. Sam Hollenbach passed for 228 yards(19-29) and ran for a score as the Terrapins (4-2) overcame a sluggish start and handed Temple (0-6) its fifth loss of more than 25 points. Maryland hardly started out like the same team that beat then-No. 19 Virginia 45-33 last week. The Terrapins trailed 7-3 after the first quarter; turned the ball over on downs once; lost one fumble; and had an interception in the end zone one play after a touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty. But Maryland ran off 35 straight points, starting with Merrills' 6-yard TD run in the second quarter. Merrills scored from the 1 to make it 17-7 right before halftime, and ran in from the 2 on the Terrapins' first possession in the third quarter for a 24-7 lead. Hollenbach scored on a quarterback sneak to put Maryland ahead 31-7. Merrills, seeking his fourth TD run, was stopped at the 1 for no gain on the previous play. Merrills gained 66 yards on 12 carries and Lance Ball had 54 yards on 11 carries for the Terps. ...For more on the Terps

Washington Nationals Love Affair

WASHINGTON (AP) -- So there they stood, gathered in the stands near the home dugout, clapping and whooping it up for their last-place Washington Nationals. And there on the dirt near third base were manager Frank Robinson, his coaches and the players, hugging each other, then pointing to the crowd and applauding right back, before offering up balls, caps and bats. For more than five minutes after Sunday's season finale, the Nationals and their fans saluted and celebrated each other, heartfelt thanks exchanged between a city that yearned for a major league team for 34 years, and a team that yearned for this kind of reception.
Thanks, the fans were saying, for bringing the national pastime back to the nation's capital. Thanks, too, for all of those one-run wins in June, for that 50-31 start and NL East lead in July, and for playing meaningful games right into the middle of September. The 31-50 swoon that left the club at .500? That can be forgiven. Thanks, the Nationals were saying, for being there every step of the way, scooping up more than 2.7 million tickets for creaky, dingy RFK Stadium, cheering sacrifice bunts and booing when opponents issued intentional walks. ``They know the game of baseball. They've been in every game,'' outfielder Brad Wilkerson said. ``It's been a great love affair for us so far.''
And yet, in what must feel like a cruel twist to Wilkerson and others who were part of the Montreal Expos' latter years, Washington heads into the offseason with perhaps more uncertainty than any other team. It's not known which of eight bidders will buy the Nationals from the other 29 clubs for what's expected to be about $450 million. Robinson, general manager Jim Bowden and president Tony Tavares can't be sure they'll be back.
The same applies, of course, to players. ``That'll just give us headaches if we worry about that,'' catcher Brian Schneider said. Second baseman Jose Vidro, the franchise's longest-tenured player, is ready for some news. ``We've been hearing since the beginning of the season, 'Oh, next month. Oh, next month. Oh, next month.' Here we are, and we still don't have an owner,'' Vidro said. ``It could hurt a lot because a lot of guys have their hands tied again.'' Bowden doesn't have a 2006 budget to work with and will hold off as long as he can on making big moves.
The GM wouldn't say whether he would keep Robinson, who used every motivational ploy he could dream up this season. ``When the new owner comes in and makes the decision on me, then I'll answer questions after that. At this point, it would be inappropriate,'' Bowden said. ``I can tell you this: I have really enjoyed working with Tony Tavares and Frank Robinson.'' Said Robinson: ``That's the only thing I'm concerned about right now -- getting an answer as soon as possible.''
The roster needs upgrading. Two starters, preferably one a lefty, and two big hitters are musts. A hard-throwing left-hander in the bullpen and a true leadoff hitter, too. The second-half drop from NL East leader to a fifth-place finish -- albeit with 14 more wins than in 2004 -- can largely be traced to injuries, clubhouse tension and a lack of offense. ``It was a magical-type season, the first half. Things went right for us,'' Robinson said.
``And the second half has been kind of like a nightmare.'' While the pitching staff ranked fourth in the NL with a 3.87 ERA, and Chad Codero led the majors with 47 saves, the offense dragged. Washington finished last in the majors in batting average (.252), slugging percentage (.386), runs (3.94 per game) and homers (117). They also had the NL's fewest steals (45) and were caught stealing the most (45). But, oh, what fun they had for a while. At one point, the Nationals were 23-7 in one-run games, winning 12 straight. Later, they lost 13 in a row and finished 30-31 in such contests.
And those D.C. residents who pined for baseball got plenty of chances to remember why: Robinson jawing with Angels manager Mike Scioscia as both benches emptied and Jose Guillen had to be restrained in a game Washington later rallied to win; Robinson persuading an umpire to wipe out an apparent tying homer by Atlanta's Brian Jordan; shortstop Cristian Guzman, who flirted with batting below .200 before finishing at .219, making an error when forced to throw a ball caked with mud because the infield was filled with puddles; 32-year-old Rick Short making his major league debut after more than 1,000 hits in the minors and homering off Dontrelle Willis and John Smoltz; Ryan Zimmerman, just out of college, hitting .397 with 10 doubles over the final month.
``We've always said that we were just missing a real small part, and that small part was moving to a new city and having a home. And we got that this year,'' Schneider said. ``You could see in the first half how we responded to that. We were in this race.''

Redskins Start Season 3-0

The Washington Redskins were inches from defeat when Josh Brown's ``perfect'' kick somehow hit the left upright on the last play of regulation. ``Honestly, the kick was perfect,'' Brown said. ``I hit a great ball and unfortunately the upright got right in the way.''
The fates are truly shining on the Redskins so far this season. They are 3-0 for the first time since 1991 with victories by two points, one point and three points. They won with Nick Novak, who had never attempted an NFL field goal until Sunday, yet had the cool to nail a 39-yard winner in overtime for a 20-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
The Redskins are cornering the market on late-game mood swings after their 14-point fourth-quarter comeback win over Dallas two weeks ago. This time, they blew a late lead and tempted fate by committing a turnover that gave Brown his 47-yard attempt. He was so sure it was good he raised his hands in victory before it clanked off the goalpost. Instead, Novak got to celebrate, running toward the bench and pumping his fist after his kick 5:31 into overtime.
Novak, a rookie from Maryland, was playing his second NFL game -- he didn't get to attempt a field goal against the Cowboys. His first attempt Sunday was blocked in the first quarter, and he had to kick the winner twice because the Redskins were called for delay of game. ...For more on the Redskins

Maryland Beats Virginia, 45-33

Desperate for a victory at home, Maryland rendered No. 19 Virginia defenseless with a multifaceted offense that caught the Cavaliers completely by surprise. Lance Ball ran for 163 yards on 17 carries and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Maryland amassed 570 yards in offense to hand Virginia its first defeat, 45-33 Saturday.
Sam Hollenbach went 25-for-33 for 320 yards and two touchdowns, and Danny Melendez had nine catches for 125 yards for the Terrapins, who had 33 first downs and punted only twice. The 570 yards was the most allowed by the Cavaliers since Georgia Tech got 627 in 2000.
Throwing or running, going inside or outside, virtually everything worked for Maryland (3-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). ``I think we had an excellent game plan and our kids executed it well,'' Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen said. ``I thought we were very unpredictable.'' Seeking to reverse their fortunes at home after losses to Clemson and West Virginia, the Terps wore their alternate black jerseys for homecoming.
Maryland's offense was more of a factor than the uniform switch, but whatever the reason, the Terrapins avoided their first 0-3 start at home since 1993. ``When they came in from warming up and they saw the black jerseys hanging in their lockers, they went nuts,'' Friedgen said. ``But it's not the jerseys that win football games.''
The Terrapins yielded a total of 38 fourth-quarter points to Clemson and West Virginia, but they outscored Virginia 21-7 over the final 15 minutes. ``I'm hoping this gives us the confidence we need to get better,'' Friedgen said. ...Read more here